Aberdeen 1-1 St Johnstone: Visitors maintain good Pittodrie record

St Johnstone are still without a Scottish Premiership win despite maintaining their strong record at Pittodrie in a 1-1 draw with Aberdeen.

The Perth side have only fallen to two defeats in their last nine visits, but were a goal down inside half an hour when Ryan Hedges broke the deadlock.

However, Joe Lewis will be disappointed not to have saved Michael O'Halloran's equaliser just before the break.

Saints sit 11th in the table with Aberdeen fourth.

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes named an unchanged side from the team who ran riot against Ross County before the international break, but they looked uninspired in the second half, barely creating any chances.

Tommy Wright, on the other hand, buoyed by new signings Anthony Ralston, Jason Holt and Stevie May, will be delighted with the performance of his Saints side that looked the more likely to score by the end.

Adding to Aberdeen's woes was confirmation from McInnes that he has three new injuries following the game; Craig Bryson has an ankle problem, Funso Ojo looks to have damaged his hamstring, and Jon Gallagher has been taken to hospital to get an x-ray on his tibia.

• Reaction & as it happened

St Johnstone show resilience on the road

The return of Stevie May grabbed the headlines in this matchup, but the former Aberdeen striker did not affect the game as much as he would have wanted to in the first start of his second spell.

He hoped to make an impression, after only scoring eight goals in 74 appearances, by returning with the club for which he managed to net 27 goals in one season back in 2013-14.

This was, however, a poor showing from the home side as a team performance - particularly in a second half in which they created next to no chances.

There was a spell in the first half when it looked like the Dons had the game by the scruff of the neck. Sam Cosgrove, looking strong and helping to drive his team forward, hit the post with a header from a Greg Leigh cross.

This helped Aberdeen find momentum after a flat first 15 minutes - and culminated in a Hedges strike putting them ahead just before the half-hour mark. It was again strong play from Greg Leigh down the left - who has settled well into a position left vacant by last year's standout Max Lowe - that allowed the ball to break to Hedges in the penalty area, and he slotted the ball through Zander Clark's legs to earn the hosts the lead.

St Johnstone were disheartened, but just before the break Scott Tanser pulled one back for O'Halloran on the edge of the box, and finding space his shot bobbled low beyond Lewis.

There was a penalty appeal for the visitors after the break - awarded by referee Steven McLean and then rescinded after consultation with his assistant, who indicated Matty Kennedy was not fouled by Andy Considine.

McInnes hoped Connor McLennan would have the same impact he did for Scotland's Under-21s, when he scored two goals this week to earn three points against Croatia, but there was nothing to seriously threaten Clark's goal except an injury-time strike from a Lewis Ferguson free-kick 30 yards out. It was too little, too late.

Man of the match - Murray Davidson

BBC Scotland's Tyrone Smith at Pittodrie

A typically combative display by Murray Davidson, who drove St Johnstone on for the entire 90 minutes.

But it wasn't just about the ugly stuff in the Saints engine room, he was also at the heart of most of what was good for the Perth side today.

He is he kind of player fans of other teams like to hate, but secretly wish they were able to cheer on in their own side.

St Johnstone 'deserved more than a point' - reaction

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes: "The goal we lose is awful, and similar to the types of goals we lost at home last season. We have gifted the opportunity to St Johnstone, I feel - O'Halloran should not have the space that he had, and Joe should save it.

"Second-half we had no rhythm and lost our way. We didn't have any real flow to the game, and I think St Johnstone had the sniff to get more from the game. I'm looking for more from our team than that second-half."

St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright: "We thought we had a penalty and probably should have had another with Murray Davidson pushed in the box.

"I'm probably slightly disappointed - I thought we deserved more, particularly with the second-half performance."